Ham & Cheddar Quiche | Italian BBQ SauceDESPITE ITS 80s STIGMA OF not being "real manly", the magical charms of a good quiche have a lot of qualities that would appeal more to man than a woman.

Already a gut-busting, artery-clogging "omelet pie" (notice how I chose the masculine spelling of omelet!), one can often throw any number of primal proteins in it as well. such as pork or beef.

Heck, even when you order one that features veggies, such as broccoli, it's usually coupled with sharp, hearty cheese, like cheddar (real men don't order Gruyére...)!

The last ones I made were a couple of years ago, consisting of chopped steak, roast beef, potatoes, and caramelized onions, which I made for some construction friends of mine and converted them to loving by promising to only refer to them as a "man pies".

Realizing that I was going to have a busy week of freelance web designing, and knowing that I wouldn't have time to cook several meals over the next few days, much less go out PHUDE-ing to enjoy.

Ta-da! Quiche comes in to save the day! Stirring two cups of heavy cream into six whisked eggs, adding a little spicy brown mustard (eff you, Dijon...!), worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, chili powder, tobasco sauce, garlic powder, salt, fresh cracked pepper, a pinch of nutmeg, stirring in two cups of shredded sharp cheddar cheese and a cup of baked ham, separating the liquid base into two frozen pie shells, sprinkling another cup of shredded cheese and a few shakes of paprika and chili powder on top of each pie, and placing the pies on the middle rack of a 375°-preheated oven.

Thirty-five minutes later, once the crust has nicely browned and the liquid was risen and cracked like a good soufflé (ugh!), they come out of the oven and set on the counter for ten minutes.

What the heck is an Italian BBQ Sauce?! Well, it's something I made up, and made by simmering some tomato paste, finely chopped roasted red peppers, balsamic vinegar, dried oregano and basil leaves, crushed garlic, salt, pepper, and honey, and letting it cool for about five minutes. It gets spooned onto a plate and a slice of "man pie" gets placed on top of that.

Smokey, eggy, gooey, cheesy, creamy, buttery, crispy, crunchy, salty, sweet, spicy, and porky yumminess in every bite! Short of being served on top of a 3-inch thick porterhouse steak, what could sound moremanly!

Not that I personally need more assurance.... Yet another asset amenable to men is its "ease of use", so to speak. This quiche can being enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or late night snack, and tastes as great hot, at room temperature, or straight out of the fridge. As a quick and easy meal utility, it's the ultimate "no-brainer"! Happy, ladies...?!

It's even safely "nukeable"—as the microwave's ability to dry out bread and dough only adds to the crust's crispiness—which meant that I was having breakfast this morning before I started another 12–15 hour day in front of the computer.